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Sartaj Aziz in Washington: "We have some influence on them [the Taliban] because their leadership is in Pakistan"
The Pakistani prime minister's adviser on foreign affairs has indicated in a talk at Washington's Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) that the leadership of Afghan Taliban is living in Pakistan.
For many such a disclosure has been an open secret for years, but one which Pakistan's powerful military refrained from talking about.
So what did he say?
Answering a question about the extent to which Pakistan could encourage or pressure the Taliban to negotiate peace with Kabul, Sartaj Aziz said: "We have some influence on them because their leadership is in Pakistan, and they get some medical facilities, their families are here. So we can use those levers to pressurise them to say, 'come to the table'."
He made clear in his CFR talk, however, that Pakistan could not negotiate with the Taliban on behalf of the Afghan government.Image copyrightAPImage captionThe revelation that the Afghan Taliban receives support from Pakistan has not surprised many commentators
"It is for the Afghan Taliban and the Afghan government to negotiate," he said.
How big a deal is that?
His comments are seen by analysts as the most candid admission ever by a Pakistani official that Afghan insurgents enjoy sanctuary in Pakistan.
In the past, Pakistan has denied it had any influence over the Taliban, or that they had any havens on Pakistani soil except in the semi-autonomous tribal region on the border with Afghanistan.
Mr Aziz's remarks come in the wake of a 20-month military operation in the area, which the Pakistani army says has cleared the country of all militant strongholds.
How will it affect talks with the Taliban?
Mr Aziz was in Washington this week to lead his team in the sixth round of US-Pakistan strategic dialogue, which included exchanges over peace in Afghanistan and the role Pakistan could play in bringing the Taliban to the dialogue table.
Since December, Pakistan has been a member of a quadrilateral co-ordination group which also includes Afghanistan, the US and China.
During the past two months, the group has held four meetings to develop a roadmap for Afghan peace negotiations. During his talk at CFR, Mr Aziz indicated that a meeting between Taliban and the Afghan government may take place in the coming 10-15 days.
What has been the response in Pakistan?
Pakistan's foreign office has taken a cautious view of the matter.
On Thursday, a foreign office spokesman declined to offer any reaction to Mr Aziz's remarks, saying "we do not make any comment on [political leaders' statements]. He [Mr Aziz] has said what he had to say".
But for most Pakistan-watchers around the world, his remarks do not come as a surprise.
How will Mr Aziz's remarks go down with the military?
Though a democratic republic, Pakistan has for a better part of its life been a country where all issues central to foreign policy, defence and internal security have remained an exclusive domain of the military.Image copyrightReutersImage captionIt may be that Mr Aziz's comments are met with a deafening silence from the Pakistani military
The Taliban, and other militant networks operating in the region, fall within that domain.
So Mr Aziz's remarks have raised questions about whether his views reflect those of the military.
The media wing of the military, which many in Pakistan consider to have become extremely vocal since the recent army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif, took over in November 2013, has been quiet so far.
Ismail Khan of Dawn newspaper believes the military may not have any issues with Mr Aziz's remarks, given that he has only stated the obvious.
Former BBC correspondent Tahir Khan thinks if the military has any reservations, we will soon see attempts by the political establishment to clarify Mr Aziz's remarks.
Or there may be a deafening silence from the military, like when the news of Mullah Omar's death was revealed by the Afghan officials.
The Pakistani prime minister's adviser on foreign affairs has indicated in a talk at Washington's Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) that the leadership of Afghan Taliban is living in Pakistan.
For many such a disclosure has been an open secret for years, but one which Pakistan's powerful military refrained from talking about.
So what did he say?
Answering a question about the extent to which Pakistan could encourage or pressure the Taliban to negotiate peace with Kabul, Sartaj Aziz said: "We have some influence on them because their leadership is in Pakistan, and they get some medical facilities, their families are here. So we can use those levers to pressurise them to say, 'come to the table'."
He made clear in his CFR talk, however, that Pakistan could not negotiate with the Taliban on behalf of the Afghan government.Image copyrightAPImage captionThe revelation that the Afghan Taliban receives support from Pakistan has not surprised many commentators
"It is for the Afghan Taliban and the Afghan government to negotiate," he said.
How big a deal is that?
His comments are seen by analysts as the most candid admission ever by a Pakistani official that Afghan insurgents enjoy sanctuary in Pakistan.
In the past, Pakistan has denied it had any influence over the Taliban, or that they had any havens on Pakistani soil except in the semi-autonomous tribal region on the border with Afghanistan.
Mr Aziz's remarks come in the wake of a 20-month military operation in the area, which the Pakistani army says has cleared the country of all militant strongholds.
How will it affect talks with the Taliban?
Mr Aziz was in Washington this week to lead his team in the sixth round of US-Pakistan strategic dialogue, which included exchanges over peace in Afghanistan and the role Pakistan could play in bringing the Taliban to the dialogue table.
Since December, Pakistan has been a member of a quadrilateral co-ordination group which also includes Afghanistan, the US and China.
During the past two months, the group has held four meetings to develop a roadmap for Afghan peace negotiations. During his talk at CFR, Mr Aziz indicated that a meeting between Taliban and the Afghan government may take place in the coming 10-15 days.
What has been the response in Pakistan?
Pakistan's foreign office has taken a cautious view of the matter.
On Thursday, a foreign office spokesman declined to offer any reaction to Mr Aziz's remarks, saying "we do not make any comment on [political leaders' statements]. He [Mr Aziz] has said what he had to say".
But for most Pakistan-watchers around the world, his remarks do not come as a surprise.
How will Mr Aziz's remarks go down with the military?
Though a democratic republic, Pakistan has for a better part of its life been a country where all issues central to foreign policy, defence and internal security have remained an exclusive domain of the military.Image copyrightReutersImage captionIt may be that Mr Aziz's comments are met with a deafening silence from the Pakistani military
The Taliban, and other militant networks operating in the region, fall within that domain.
So Mr Aziz's remarks have raised questions about whether his views reflect those of the military.
The media wing of the military, which many in Pakistan consider to have become extremely vocal since the recent army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif, took over in November 2013, has been quiet so far.
Ismail Khan of Dawn newspaper believes the military may not have any issues with Mr Aziz's remarks, given that he has only stated the obvious.
Former BBC correspondent Tahir Khan thinks if the military has any reservations, we will soon see attempts by the political establishment to clarify Mr Aziz's remarks.
Or there may be a deafening silence from the military, like when the news of Mullah Omar's death was revealed by the Afghan officials.
